Social networking heavyweight Instagram on Thursday added a new direct messaging feature designed to counter the popularity of upstart competitor Snapchat, while gesture-based keyboard Fleksy can now be integrated into third-party apps thanks to a new SDK.

Instagram Direct

Instagram, acquired last year by Menlo Park, Calif.-based Facebook for nearly $1 billion, will now allow users to share photos and videos with specific subsets of followers privately, rather than in an open, public feed. Dubbed Instagram Direct, the feature is seemingly intended to head off an emerging threat from time-limited image sharing app Snapchat, which itself reportedly spurned a $3 billion offer from Facebook.

Similarly, a recent Twitter update enabled the sharing of photos between users in direct messages. The twin moves are indicative of the growing movement from text-based to image-based social networking among younger audiences.

Instagram Direct adds a new inbox to manage conversations, and the image capture flow has been updated to add the direct sharing option. The company says comments, views, and likes will be updated in realtime, and a queuing system will allow users to triage images or videos received from those they are not already following.

After beginning life exclusively on iOS, Instagram now boasts 150 million users across both iOS and Android. A Windows Phone app is reportedly on the way — the service's glaring absence is often cited as a strike against Microsoft's mobile platform.

Instagram version 5.0 is available now as a free, 14.0-megabyte download from the App Store.

Fleksy SDK

Since Apple has declined to provide a systemwide plugin architecture for iOS, alternative keyboards have yet to really catch on the way they have on Google's Android — most are found only in apps designed as technical demonstrations. Fleksy, with the introduction of a new SDK for their gesture-based keyboard, aims to convince developers to build the Fleksy keyboard directly into apps, rather than waiting for an Apple-provided system.

Fleksy's SDK takes advantage of existing iOS APIs that allow app developers to customize the input method of their apps — Wolfram Alpha's iOS app, for example, makes use of a heavily modified keyboard. This is the same way other keyboard alternatives make their way into the App Store, but Fleksy is the first to provide a complete SDK designed for third parties.

At launch, four applications have been modified to use Fleksy's keyboard: BlindSquare, an assistive application for the visually impaired; GV Connect, a Google Voice client; Launch Center Pro, a LaunchPad-style app for iOS; and Wordbox, a minimalistic text editor.

Instagram has lost its way completely. So now Instagram wants to be Instagram, Vine and Snapchat? One big YUCK! Nothing but a bunch of greedy sell-outs. They're whole network was built on the backs of its users whom they sold down the river to Facebook. They talked about changing the world, but they never intended to change the world. If you really intended to change the world you couldn't be bought out, because you're not in it for a grand pay-day. You somehow are looking at a larger picture. In the end they proved who they really were. And that team continues to prove who they actually are: great software designers without souls.

"Instagram has lost its way completely. Nothing but a bunch of sell-outs."

They are bunch of sell-outs, what did they do?

They said the wouldn't sell-out their users because they were in it for a cause, but then they sold to Facebook and proved they were nothing but a bunch of liars. Pretty much their whole draw, what was great about the network and why interesting people liked it was because it wasn't connected to Google or Fuckbook. And now lacking original ideas and motivation are attempting to crush any competing companies by straight up ripping off their ideas. Very Microsoftian.

I know people would like downloadable keyboards, and I hope Apple gets around to addressing the security implications to make it practical (no small task for a niche demand).

But all I really want is Apple's keyboard to keep evolving with one simple addition: flick left and right across the keys to move the cursor one space left and right. Flick-and-hold to move continuously. (Vertical flicking? Not as important, and might conflict with the current swipe-symbols.)

But all I really want is Apple's keyboard to keep evolving with one simple addition: flick left and right across the keys to move the cursor one space left and right. Flick-and-hold to move continuously. (Vertical flicking? Not as important, and might conflict with the current swipe-symbols.)

Completely agree. It is such a pain to move the cursor to the exact position in the text field when attempting to make a change.

They said the wouldn't sell-out their users because they were in it for a cause, but then they sold to Facebook and proved they were nothing but a bunch of liars. Pretty much their whole draw, what was great about the network and why interesting people liked it was because it wasn't connected to Google or Fuckbook. And now lacking original ideas and motivation are attempting to crush any competing companies by straight up ripping off their ideas. Very Microsoftian.

Apple isn't totally innocent. How many features of iOS were once apps? Instagram has become Samsung like by first copying Vine and now Snapchat.

I don't get the analogy at all. Instagram lied to their users and ruined the community that supported it purely for financial gain.

I was referring to the latter part of your post, but for the overall message I would say that I'm not surprised IG sold out. It's easy to say one is doing it for the cause until a big fat payday causes one to change one's mind.